Long-tailed
Chinchillas grow to about one foot in length. In nature, they
are light gray, while other colors have been developed in captivity.

Their
diet consists of plants, fruits, seeds, and small insects.

In
their native habitat, chinchillas live in burrows or crevices
in rocks. They are monogamous and live in pairs. Unusual for
mammals, chinchilla females are significantly bigger than males
and can breed any time of the year. They have a very long gestation
period for a rodent of 111 days. Due to this long pregnancy,
Long-tailed
Chinchillas
are born fully furred and open their eyes soon after birth.
Litters range from one to eight babies, although the average
litter size is two.

They
are native to N Chile, in foothills of the Andes and coastal
mountains south to Talca.